Schuyler NKJV Bible Review

Several years ago, I hit the internet in search of a new Bible case. The first thing I learned was that most Bible cases can damage your Bible if you use them according to their design. (Don’t tuck your cover into those pockets. It puts pressure on the hinges of your Bible’s binding.)

The next thing I learned was that there is a world of better Bibles beyond what you’ll find at your local Christian bookstore. I stumbled upon The Bible Design Blog and got lost for days.

OK…weeks.

OK……..yeah.

One of those better Bibles is published by Schuyler.

Schuyler NKJV in black Cantara goatskin.

The Schuyler NKJV is actually a reprinting of Nelson’s Single Column edition in paragraph format. Only better. The Schuyler presentation, printed and bound in the Netherlands by Jongbloed, includes:

Edge-lined Cantara goatskin cover with perimeter stitching

Smyth-sewn binding

Red under gold art-gilt page edges

3 ribbon markers

32 gsm paper

Words of Christ in black

Several Bible reading plans

Concordance

Maps

Before we get into more photos, the copy of the Bible I received for review lacks the art gilt page edges, so they are white. Any Schuyler Bible you purchase will have the art gilt.

Unlike Bibles you’ll find at a typical bookstore, the Schuyler cover reveals the natural grain of the leather; it is not pressed. This means each cover is unique, and it also improves its flexibility. The polyurethane lining, though not leather, still allows for a very flexible cover.

Can your Bible do yoga? 😉

There are 8 pages at the beginning for presentation and family records, and 8 full color maps at the back. Schuyler also includes 16 blank pages between the concordance and maps.

The page layout is my favorite feature of this Bible: large print (10.5 pt. bold) with generous line-spacing, single column paragraph. You open it up, and it says, “Read me.” It looks like a book you’d want to curl up with, not reference material. Very inviting. To give the text even more room to breathe, Schuyler widened Nelson’s inner margin. The text doesn’t get anywhere near the gutter when you’re reading this Bible.

Single column paragraph format.

You may have noticed the lack of cross references. This is not a reference Bible, but it does place the translation notes that the NKJV is known for at the bottom of the page.

Jongbloed used the smooth, creamy paper they are known for with a weight of 32 gsm. This is heavier paper than you’ll find in most Bibles, but it is still thin. Thin paper is a necessity when you’re printing a 1,808 page book you expect people to carry around with them, but it does have its drawbacks. Remember, this was originally a Nelson textblock. Unfortunately, Nelson did not use a new printing technique known as line matching. Line matching means that the lines of text on each side of the page are in the same space. They match. This minimizes any “ghosting” on the page, where text from the back side of the page will show through to the front. Sometimes, ghosting will show through for 2 or 3 pages.

Interestingly enough, there are many pages in this Bible that do have line matching. It seems, however, that the matching gets thrown off by any chapter headings. Here is an example of how this looks in the Schuyler:

No line matching vs. line matching.

Up close.

Note that the page on the right has line matching, but the page on the left does not. The page without line matching looks like it has shadows or gray boxes around the text. The page on the right is clearer and easier to read. (Pardon my iffy photography skills.) This level of ghosting is unfortunate in what is otherwise an excellent reader.

There is a simple remedy for ghosting if you have a Bible without line matching, and that is to slip a piece of black paper behind the page you are reading. The shadows will disappear.

Without black paper:

With black paper:

If you’re in the market for a NKJV, and ghosting doesn’t bother you, the Schuyler is a lovely Bible. If ghosting is an issue for you, you could try the black paper trick. The Schuyler NKJV is available for purchase, in black and brown goatskin, through EvangelicalBible.com for $185.

Have you read your Bible today? 🙂

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12 Responses to “Schuyler NKJV Bible Review”

A few weeks ago I purchased an ESV Schuyler in brown (2nd. printing) with confessions. However, I returned it do to what I saw as an unacceptable degree of ghosting. Schuyler, as you indicated, does not develop their own text layout, and for the ESV I believe they use the Crossway New Classic Reference Bible. That edition does not use line matching either. I find this odd because Crossway has emphasized line matching in other recent editions (Legacy, Heritage, even the Single Column Journaling Bible has it). Line matching would have done a lot of good for the Schuyler ESV. Every thing else about the Bible was fantastic. The goatskin cover was soft and flexible, the cross logo on the cover I thought was classy, the 4 ribbons are great, the paper was good enough, but I think it could have been a bit heavier. The art gilding was not as pronounced as the Cambridge Pitt Minion I have, and certainly not as dark as an Allan, but it was still better than only gold.

But I just couldn’t see spending $192 on a Bible that I thought had too much ghosting. I bought the Crossway Legacy instead. I think it has 36 gsm paper, which may not sound much better than the 32 gsm on the Schuyler, but when you combine it with line matching it makes a big difference.

I really hope that one day Schuyler or R. L. Allan will produce an edition of the Legacy. I would pay $200 for that any day.

I have a TruTone Legacy, and you’re right, Michael, at 36 gsm with line matching, it is a great Bible. I’m looking forward to the Schuyler Quentel NASB that’s expected by January. 45 gsm with line matching in a completely new typesetting. http://schuylerbible.com/bibles/nasb/

Not that I’m aware of, lenny. Nelson achieved line matching in more than half the text, but it’s occasionally thrown off by section headings. Correcting that would require an entirely new typesetting. It isn’t something Schuyler can adjust.

While it uses the same text block, the Schuyler NKJV is also considerably larger than the Nelson NKJV Single-column. The Nelson (unfortunately marred by a cover that is poor even for them) is what I’d call a “hand size” Bible whereas the Schuyler is as big as a MacArthur Study Bible ,albeit somewhat lighter. I’m guessing the Schuyler NKJV isn’t as hefty as the Quentel, but it’s probably somewhat larger than some would prefer for an “all around” or general use Bible. I found it to be a bit “slippery” when held with one hand as well, probably due to the size. The print is rather easy on the eyes, though. I’m guessing that may be one reason they decided to make the Bible larger.

After reading the NKJV for years, I’ve pretty much thrown in the towel on it. Due to the size and the fact that it doesn’t have all of the NKJV marginal notes, I got rid of my Schuyler. (I probably wouldn’t have otherwise, but I figured it wasn’t right to have something of that quality just laying around that I wasn’t going to use regularly.) Most of the NKJV editions other than study Bibles are red letter, which are difficult for me to read at any length at this point. I think I would probably like the Clarion, however. Cambridge seems to have gone to red letters with most of their Bibles but I’m glad they didn’t do that with the Clarion.

I see a lot of complaints about a lack of choices with the NASB. But IMO the Side-Column Reference and the Large Print Ultrathin (including the Chinese editions or at least the ones that don’t arrive falling apart already) have better craftsmanship and text blocks than any NKJV edition that isn’t made by Schuyler or Cambridge.

I bought this bible in brown this week. I have a Cambridge Clarion in brown and a black goatskin, both in the NKJV. I also have the Holman NKJV that Allan uses for their NKJV edition.

The Schuyler has advantages over all the other NKJV bibles I own. It has some ghosting like all bibles do but because of the paper,size of the font,boldness of the font,line spacing, margins on both sides of the text along, single column format and no references this bible is a special one. I’ve chosen this bible to be my best friend for life for those reasons.

In my opinion Schuyler makes the best bibles. I love Allan Bibles and use to prefer them. Schuyler has changed my mind. I’ve purchased a Quentel ESV and am just giddy! I love Schuyler’s style and quality now better than Allan’s.

I bought a second printing edition of this NKJV Bible. It is a beautiful Bible. It is leather lined instead of the polyurethane lining. I like that, even though I think that they used bonded leather. The ghosting is worse than I anticipated. I can live with it, but I wish that I had waited for the NKJV Quentel to come out.